Hay(na)ku

NEW! HAY(NA)KU 15, a celebration with exhibits, readings, and new books.

The hay(na)ku is a 21st century poetic form invented by Eileen R. Tabios. It is a six-word tercet with the first line being one word, the second line being two words, and the third line being three words. An example:

… blueness

of sky—

I am breathing

Since its public inauguration, poets around the world have used the form, and published the results in books, anthologies and literary journals. Poets also have created text and visual variations of the form, including the popular “chained hay(na)ku” which strings together more than one tercet as well as the reverse hay(na)ku where the word count is reversed. Ms. Tabios’ variation, “haybun,” combines a single hay(na)ku tercet with prose and is documented in the first book-length haybun, 147 MILLION ORPHANS (MMXI-MML). The name “hay(na)ku” was coined by Vince Gotera (see “The History of the Hay(na)ku”).